Quantum
A
few years ago the words, ‘all in the mind’, suggested that thoughts, beliefs, or ideas were subjective, fl oaty, non-corporeal, ‘things’ that had no impact on anything other than how we feel about things.
This has all changed. It is now regarded as scientifi c fact that there is no such thing as ‘all in the mind’. Our thoughts, beliefs, or ideas actually cause chemical and structural changes in the brain as well as changes at the cellular, genetic, and chemical level throughout our bodies.
New research into the placebo effect, for instance, saw sufferers of Parkinson’s disease given an anti-Parkinson’s drug, which produced a rapid reduction in tremors. Brain imaging allowed scientists to track the associated brain changes. But half of the patients were given a placebo instead of the drug, which amounted to a basic salt-water injection. Not only did their tremors stop in them too, but brain imaging showed almost identical brain changes as those who received the drug. In fact their brains even began to produce dopamine in an area that is usually defi cient in dopamine.
This and many other recent studies moved Fabrizio Benedetti, professor of neuroscience at the University of Turin School of Medicine, and member of Harvard’s ‘Placebo Study Group’, to write that, ‘The placebo effect has evolved from being thought of as a nuisance in clinical pharmacological research to a biological phenomenon worthy of scientifi c investigation in its own right.’
Our thoughts, beliefs, ideas, imaginings, and emotions all produce changes in the body.
Many of these changes occur right down at the genetic level. Harvard published a study in 2008 that showed that meditation impacted 1,561 genes in novice meditators and 2,219 genes in seasoned practitioners. Examining some of the individual genes showed that meditation was counteracting cellular decay that normally occurs with aging. In other words, meditation was actually slowing the aging process.
Many people use the mind-body connection to heal themselves. Tom was badly injured in a car accident. His car was hit by a bus, which left him with a fractured skull, broken shoulder, several broken ribs, a shattered pelvis, a broken hip and a broken knee cap. He spent several weeks in hospital and had to learn to walk again, under the guidance of a physiotherapist.
At fi rst the hospital staff thought he might never gain the normal ability to move freely again, but their prognosis began to change as he made remarkable gains in strength.
Quantum Health 29
David Hamilton
HEALTH
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